Following Her
by live differently
Summary: Everyone knows Debbie Ocean and Lou Miller have a past, but what happened? Lou and Debbie had been dating while Debbie was seeing Claude. Lou had no idea. Debbie comes back and there is a lot of unsaid things the lovers push aside. After everyone leaves, Debbie and Lou are stuck. They’re still in love, but did Deb hurt Lou too much for healing? When Lou runs, Deb follows.


Heyyy!! This is my first book on , so if it's a bit rocky to begin with, I'm sorry! I'm really excited for this story, because I love Oceans 8. Gay ships are by only ships, and how could you not ship Cate and Sandra? I know that this isn't perfect, but I'm really liking it so far!! Thanks for reading!!

xoxo

After the heist and exchanging their diamonds in for money, the eight girls eventually came back to the loft for one last time.

They gather around the screen, sitting in their designated seats. "So," Tammy starts. "I have to get back soon. My kid is waiting for me."

Nobody knew what to say. They had pulled something beautiful off. Something extravagant. Something that would change their lives... forever. As a group. It was the end. There was nothing left they had with each other. It was time for goodbyes.

The girls knew that. It's the end, it was the point of the story where everyone goes off and has their happily ever after. However, that's not what they wanted. They wanted to stay in that loft. They wanted to pull off another heist. They didn't want to say goodbye.

"My flight leaves in an hour, I need to get on the road." Daphne says, glancing at her watch.

Rose affectionately slaps Daphne's knee. "We'll walk you out."

Standing at the large doors, everyone hugs goodbye. Daphne left first. Then Rose. Then Nine Ball. Tammy was next, followed by Constance and Amita. Leaving Lou and Debbie behind.

They hadn't gotten a chance to talk _it_ out yet.

What a lot of people didn't know, was that Debbie and Lou were best friends for over twenty years, and lovers. Lou didn't know about Claude Becker. At the time, Debbie and Lou lived in an apartment together, and Debbie dated Claude secretly, behind Lou's back.

Lou found out that her girlfriend was incarcerated by a phone call, and they hadn't spoken since.

"I guess this is goodbye," the tall blonde says with a kind smile. "I'll see ya later, toots."

Debbie stops her, grabbing her wrist. "Lou, can we talk? Please?"

"About what? I have got to go, Deb." Lou leans down and places a friendly kiss on Debbie's cheek, before heading out to leave again.

"Louise Miller, I'm talking to you!!" Debbie says, yanking her forward and walking her to the couch. "We have to talk this out. I don't want over twenty years of friendship to go down the drain when you leave this building and never talk to me again!"

Lou's walls slowly start to go down. "Debbie, what are you talking about? I was in this friendship, this relationship, whatever you call us. I was invested. You know that just as well as I do. When I got a phone call, saying that your _boyfriend_ framed you, what was I supposed to do? Forgive you immediately and visit you every single week with roses and candies? You never fucking apologized," Lou says, tears filling her sky blue orbs. "You never FUCKING apologized!" She shouts, standing up. "I cried myself to sleep, thinking that you never loved me and only used me for my apartment. I cried myself to sleep because I knew I wouldn't see you again for months, and that killed me, Ocean. I cried myself to sleep because I felt like a complete idiot for ever loving you. I cried because I felt weak that I couldn't fight back the tears. Then, I picked myself up. I moved on. I got my team, and I got my vodka business. You never called me again. You never wrote me a simple letter. You never cared enough." Lou says, pacing back and forth, and when she was done, she faces the wall, crossing her arms.

Debbie looks at her slim back, and she notices now how slim Lou was. She obviously didn't eat much. Debbie could see her ribs against her blouse. She noticed how pale Lou had gotten, and how every time Debbie tried to have a conversation with her, Lou would build up walls with sarcastic remarks or jokes. She had been so broken the last five years.

Debbie stands up, silently taking a step toward her. "I never cared? Lou, I felt awful. I felt like the worst person. I would sit in my cell and stare at the wall for hours, knowing what I did to you. I never wrote and I never called because if I saw your handwriting, I'd never be able to stop crying. If I heard your voice? Lou, it would tear me apart. I know I screwed up with Claude. I know that I was awful. I know all of this, and I'm sorry. I'm here now. I'm here, for you, ready for this. I want to - oh I don't know. I want to get a beautiful house with you. We could get a dog. I'm ready for us to become what we've always wanted, Lou."

Lou aggressively wipes a tear away, still facing the wall.

Debbie had enough, and walks over to the blonde, standing flush behind her and wrapping her arms around Lou's tiny waist. Almost immediately, Lou melts into her embrace as if she couldn't help it. Debbie affectionately places a kiss on the back of Lou's neck. "I'm sorry. I'm ready now."

She felt Lou draw in a shaky breath against her body. Then slowly, Lou unraveled herself. She turned around and caressed Debbie's face. "I can't."

The blonde walks over to the coffee table and picks up her helmet, keys, and phone. "I can't do this, Debbie. Five years of hurt and pain. We can't just pretend like that didn't happen. We aren't twenty anymore. It happened. You hurt me. I was alone for five years, without my best friend, without my lover. Do you know how many times I stared at my ceiling for hours at night, wishing you were in my arms and my hands tangled in your hair? You can't take back that grief I felt, Debbie. Nobody can."

Debbie Ocean doesn't cry. She never cried once in jail. She didn't cry when she found out her brother died. She didn't cry when Claude framed her. She wasn't a woman who cried.

But tears filled up her brown, darkly lined eyes as she walks toward the door. "No, Lou. C'mon. Please. I'm - I'm sorry Lou. Lou, I love you."

And the door shut behind the blonde, leaving the brunette in the loft all alone, hugging herself and sobbing.


End file.
